1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board with forced airflow and a device provided with a printed circuit board with forced airflow.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Cooling systems for electronic devices are under constant improvement, due to the miniaturization of electronic elements followed by increase of dissipated heat. The design of cooling systems is an especially important issue for devices with closed housings. One of the simplest cooling elements is a radiator, whose large surface dissipates heat to the surroundings. The cooling efficiency can be increased by forcing air circulation by a fan, which can be located directly on a cooled element or which forces air circulation around all elements assembled on a main printed circuit board (called motherboard) of the device.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,674 “Circuit board mounting brackets with convective airflow apertures” presents a device with expansion cards in form of printed circuit boards, where one edge of every card is assembled to the housing by means of a support with openings along the edge of the board. A fan, assembled in the device at its side panel, forces circulation of air drawn from the openings in the supports. The airflow efficiently cools the expansion cards. However, it is difficult to define the direction of airflow relative to the motherboard. After flowing along the expansion cards the air is dispersed, therefore cooling of the motherboard is ineffective. Moreover, the fan located on the side panel limits the minimum height of the device to fan dimensions.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,168 “Powersupply” presents a power supply unit with a blower-type fan located horizontally, with air directed via a channel to a side panel. The channel forces airflow drawn from openings in the opposite side panel. Such solution makes it possible to lower the height of the device. However, drawing air via openings in the opposite panel is ineffective for a device with a large motherboard surface, where the air can be dispersed.